The Government needs to be clear in how it will
deliver the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), according to a national group
which includes the University of Greenwich.
The university has joined with its University Alliance (UA) partners, along with 70 national and local organisations from across the country.
In an open letter to the Government, the group call for greater transparency and clarity on the UKSPF, the Government's proposed successor to current EU Structural Funds. The group says its aim is to avoid a cliff edge of support disappearing when existing programmes end in 2023.
EU Structural Funds have helped universities and business to collaborate, and to support and develop communities and regions. This includes programmes that have increased employment and skills, as well as initiatives to drive forward research, innovation and enterprise.
Rosemary Nunn is Head of Commercialisation and Innovation at Greenwich, as well as being Chair of the University Alliance Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Network.
She said: "Without the timely replacement of these funds, the success of collaborative projects led by universities and businesses is at risk. This affects individuals and their livelihoods, at a time of great economic challenge across the UK."
UA adds that, despite an announcement in 2017 and a further commitment in the 2019 Conservative manifesto, there has been a "concerning lack of communication and further details on how the UKSPF will be operated, and under what timescales. No consultation has taken place in the last three years".
UA Chief Executive Vanessa Wilson said: "EU structural funds have been a vital mechanism for universities to support businesses and communities - especially throughout the pandemic. Details of their replacement, the UKSPF, have been promised but not delivered, and time is running out as we approach the end of the Brexit transition period.
"University and business leaders want to work constructively and proactively with the Government to address the current economic challenges and reduce inequalities between regions. Given the uncertainty ahead, it has never been more important to deliver the UKSPF, which will be a vehicle for the much-needed long-term planning and investment needed to level-up the nation."
